


astray

by arochill



Series: Begin Again (Dream SMP) [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Family Feels, Hurt No Comfort, Wilbur Soot Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arochill/pseuds/arochill
Summary: Wilbur didn’t know what he wanted anymore. His home was gone, he didn’t know who to trust, he was so, so tired.And he was so, so angry.He wanted his dad back.
Series: Begin Again (Dream SMP) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195076
Comments: 24
Kudos: 449





	astray

Phil looked at them, three ragtag kids who didn’t understand the world, and took them in.

(Wilbur wished it was as simple as that.)

When Phil took him in, the rage that burned inside him settled — but only a little. The world wasn’t kind to him. It wasn’t kind to his brothers. And Wilbur knew that he had to be wary, that he had to be careful with his emotions if he was to survive.

Wilbur, if one was to describe him from an outside perspective, was a patient child. A calm child that just wanted to help his family. He was kind, and soft, and no one could ever be afraid of Wilbur.

He got it from Phil, they said.

That was a long time ago.

Wilbur knew what people thought when they saw him. They saw a weak man. They saw someone who hid behind others and used them to achieve his goals. They saw someone who was cowardly, with no power of his own. He took, and took, and took from others, and didn’t leave anything in return. And still, they trusted him.

Because it was _Wilbur._ It was a kind man who just wanted to protect them and bring them freedom.

(When Wilbur was younger, he and his brothers fought a lot. It was over petty things, usually, and oftentimes their dad was able to calm it down before it got too out of hand.)

It is the kindest men who break the hardest.

Wilbur cared for L'manburg. It was his home, and he and his people had fought hard to keep it that way. Wilbur barely remembered why he fought so hard to protect it now.

It hurt, if he was honest, to watch all he had worked for be taken over by a man that didn’t even understand the history of the place. It hurt, if he was honest, to know that the people he had fought alongside would give up on him as easily as they did —

But there had been one traitor already, so long ago, and Wilbur wasn’t all that surprised.

(When Wilbur was younger, Wilbur got angry over a lot of things. A missing toy, a stray insult. But he kept that anger inside him, because Tommy and Techno were always angrier – always more dangerous when they were emotional. He had to be the mediator between his brothers when Phil wasn’t there, and that was okay.)

An elastic band is easily snapped.

Wilbur is not an elastic band.

(He is all too human.)

Wilbur watched them tear down his walls. He saw the burnt down flag in ashes. He looked upon a land he has called his home and wondered if this was what he deserved.

Wilbur had always been an angry person. His brothers knew not to make him angry, because unlike them it was so much harder to get him to calm down.

But it was a slow anger. An icy anger you don’t notice until the cold melts away and the fire begins to burn.

Wilbur had been cold for a long, long time now.

(When Wilbur was younger, he and his brothers watched their dad smile, wave, and leave them behind. It hadn’t been malicious. Wilbur and his brothers were grown, now, and their dad wanted to let them explore worlds of their own choice. He wanted them to grow, and learn, and make mistakes that would ultimately lead them to be better people. It had been a long time since Wilbur had last seen his dad.)

(Before he left, he had told them one thing.)

Wilbur didn’t trust people.

Everyone left him in the end, ultimately, and he understood now that he never should have let them get as close as he had. It was his own fault.

But he knew better now.

He knew _better._

(“I’m so proud of you. You’ll grow into fine men, I know it. Stay safe, okay? I’m always here if you need me.”)

Wilbur felt his hands shake.

There was TNT buried beneath the ground, and one tap of a button would take Manburg and all its residents to their death.

They deserved it.

This was _their fault._

They had taken his home from him and ruined it and he couldn’t trust _any_ of them.

_They deserved it._

“I miss dad…do you think he’s proud of me?”

There was no button.

(When Wilbur was younger, Phil had to calm him down more often than either of them would let Techno and Tommy be aware of. Phil, in the quiet of the house, would wrap his wings around Wilbur’s body as his son shook with anger and sadness that he held back far too often.

When Wilbur was younger, Phil always knew what to do to make him see reason. He knew how to calm the fire that raged inside of Wilbur’s chest. Phil understood him.

After all, Wilbur was more like his dad than anyone realised.)

The TNT remained buried.

Techno did what Schlatt asked of him.

Techno was a traitor.

(It’s okay, Techno. I understand.)

There was anger, clawing up the inside of his throat, and he wanted to scream.

_What had he done to deserve this?_

Wilbur stood in a ravine that was home, for now, and he knew that Phil would be disappointed in him.

(“I’m always here if you need me.”)

Wilbur's hands shook as he pulled out his communicator.

(He wondered if he still remembered his dad’s number.)

(He wondered if his dad would answer.)

**Author's Note:**

> so, that festival livestream huh.
> 
> ::
> 
> comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. thank you so much for reading.


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